In the fall of 2015, the Chapel Hill High School PTSA received a grant for approximately $7,000. During the conversations that followed, the PTSA Executive Board explored a variety of school initiatives that could be developed with that funding. Current president Kirsten Barker said that over the past several years, “The CHHS PTSA has been trying to highlight that we are an organization that supports
ALL CHHS students, parents and staff. We felt that a good way to put those words into action would be to focus on students who were continuing to community college, so we could continue to provide support that they would be leaving behind when they left the safety net of high school.”
The first scholarships were awarded in the spring of 2016 to five students, to four students in 2017 and four more this spring. To hear the stories and ambitions from the students who have benefited from the fund is to understand how wide and deep the impact has already been.
Monicah Atwater, a recipient from the first class of 2016, will receive her Associate in Applied Science degree in Medical Assisting Technology from Alamance Community College on June 8. She has long held the ambition to work in an allied health field. Through her grandmother’s long illness, Atwater learned as much as she could to strengthen her support skills. During that experience, she became committed to further education in medicine, and she has loved the courses at ACC. “Without the scholarship to get started, it would have been completely different,” Atwater said.
DohSay Sein received the scholarship as a 2017 CHHS graduate, and his year at Durham Tech has allowed him to focus and define his educational path, well beyond any plans he had considered a year ago. “I would like to say thank you very much for the scholarship that I got from the PTSA. It has really helped me a lot with my school tuition and move forward with my education. I will be able to buy the books and other supplies that I need in each class.”
During his first semester, DohSay said he kept changing his mind about what he wants to study, but now he is confident that he would like to earn an Associate in Science degree to prepare for transfer to a four year college. He hopes to pursue a career in Network Security. “The teachers at Durham Tech are very, very nice,” DohSay said. “Every time when I need help with the subject, I can always contact them and make an appointment with them to help me with the subjects that I don’t understand. Overall, I really enjoy learning at Durham Tech, and what I have learned now and in the past, has made a big difference in my life.”
Kimberlee Spores is the current chair of the CHHS PTSA Scholarship Program. She is the "face" of the program now and has developed new ideas to make the work of the committee more professional. Each fall, Spores, Barker and other Executive Board members meet with the most recent class of recipients to check in and hear how they are navigating their first semesters - and to provide guidance and cheerleading, if necessary.
The selection process has been fine-tuned by the Scholarship Committee, in consultation with Assistant Principal Anna Hipps and the counseling team at CHHS. Since counselors know which of the seniors hope to attend community college, they have been able to ensure that eligible students not only learn about the scholarships, but that they can provide direction and support to complete the application and secure teacher recommendations.
“We pay $500 directly to the school for fall tuition and then a follow-on of another $500 if they re-enroll for spring classes,” Barker said. “We also stay in touch with them and ‘mother hen’ them a bit to make sure they are registering, staying on track, etc…”
Linda Cervantes, another of the 2016 recipients, said that the “mother henning” part of the process was invaluable for her. As a first generation college student, she said that nearly every part of enrolling in her first semester at Alamance Community College was challenging, since she had no one to help her understand the process. “It was such a relief to start out in college, not worrying about how to pay for every little thing.”
Cervantes hopes to complete her Associates in Arts certificate this summer, so that she will be ready to enroll at Guilford College in August. In the university transfer track, she has met the general education requirements, except for a final course in biology. Her career ambition is to become a social worker, and she feels very optimistic about the kind of preparation she’ll receive at the private Quaker college. “They’re a school that talks a lot about social justice and community. I know I want to contribute and give back.”
Four 2018 scholarship recipients were recognized at the May 30 senior awards ceremony at CHHS. Among this year’s winners: a student who has been studying automotive technology through dual enrollment at Durham Tech, where he will enroll full time in the fall; one who has a passion for photography and will also attend Durham Tech; a student who hopes to study sonography and another student who will also enroll in general education courses at Durham Tech.
Barker and Spores are deeply committed to continuing the scholarship fund to provide multiple grants each year. “Our traditional fundraising activities now support the scholarship program in addition to our other initiatives like teacher discretionary funds, teacher supplies, student club support and mental health initiatives,” said Barker.
Although approximately ten percent of CHCCS seniors choose to attend community college, few are commended for that choice. “We felt that lots of kids get recognized for athletic signing and four-year college scholarships, but not much is said about or done for our kids who go on to community college,” Barker said. “We want the ultimate message to be that the path to success doesn’t only tie to UNC acceptances.”
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